This invention relates to devices for the therapeutic treatment of hemorrhoids. It has been estimated that approximately one third of the adults in the United States shall at one time or another have a hemorrhoidal condition that is discomforting and quite painful. It appears that hemorrhoids are more numerous in high stress societies.
Anatomically, hemorrhoids are caused by the swelling and thrombosis of a large plexus of veins in the anal canal followed by edema. Frequently hemorrhoids are considered primarily as varicose veins and their associated effects and disruptions in the anal-rectal canal. In the formation of hemorrhoids, the veins become varicose and the valves of the veins become incompetent through mechanical or vascular hydraulic stresses in excess of the elastic limits of the veinal structure. Causes of hemorrhoids are generally attributed to chronic constipation, irregularity of bowel evacuation, poor dietary habits and pregnancy-induced interference with the venous return flow due to fetal pressures against the pelvic area.
Occasionally hemorrhoids may be accompanied by fissures or cracks in the anal cavity, the base of which becomes secondarily infected, causing bleeding and substantial pain.
Hemorrhoids are generally diagnosed by symptoms or by their appearance in a rectal examination. The formation of hemorrhoids generally involves swelling about the anus which may becomes more pronounced on bowel evacuation. With a chronic case of hemorrhoids, bowel evacuation becomes extremely painful and frequently results in rectal bleeding.
Unless the hemorrhoids have reached an acute stage, treatment is generally accompanied with attention to one's diet, bowel habits and less stressful activity. Frequently a treating physician will recommend that the patient be administered sitz baths three or four times a day in water as hot as a patient can comfortably tolerate. Frequently hydrophilic, bulk stool formers such as "Metamucil" are prescribed to assist in the bowel evacuation process. Acute hemorrhoids frequently require rubber band lagations and some forms of surgery.
A device for the therapeutic treatment of hemorrhoids is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,142,529 granted Mar. 6, 1979 entitled "Process and Device for the Therapeutic Treatment of Hemorrhoids". Although the device described in such patent and patent application operates satisfactorily, the object of this invention is to provide a much improved device that is safer and more accurate.
These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description of a preferred and alternate embodiment.